Mail-cabinet.



No. 7921978. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. M. c. FINNEY.

MAIL CABINET. APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 22, 1904.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No; 792.978. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905.

M. 0. PINNEY.

MAIL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wane/woo NlTED STATES Patented June 20, 1905.

MANFRED O. FINNEY, OF PIERREPONT MANOR, NEIV YORK.

MAIL-CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,978, dated June 20,1905.

Application filed October 22, 1904. Serial No. 229,665.

To (M w/wm, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MANFRED G. FINNEY, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Pierre' pont Manor, in thecounty of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Mail-Cabinets, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a cabinet for mailcarriers, more particularly onrural routes, and has for its object to provide a receptacle in whichthe mail can be conveniently and safely carried. The construction alsoenables the mail to be delivered to be so arranged that none of it willbe overlooked by the carrier, thus insuring the delivery of each piececarried. A deposit-receptacle for the mail collected on the route isalso provided, together with a handy and convenient place for stamps andsupplies.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 isa plan view of the invention.view with the lid open. Figs. 3 and 4: are transverse sections on thelines 3 and 1, respectively, of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a front elevation.Fig. 6 is a detail in elevation of the bearing-block to be hereinafterdescribed.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 10 denotes a cabinet or boxhaving end walls 11 and 12, respectively, and front and rear walls 13and 1A, respectively. A lid 15 is also provided, which is hinged to therear wall 14, as at 16, and is glazed, as at 17. The lid is held closedby a spring-catch or other suitable device 18, secured to the front wall13. A spring 18 is fastened to the end wall 11, which spring pressesagainst the lid and swings it open when the catch 18 is disengaged.

The cabinet is divided into three compartments, which are formed bypartitions 19 and 20, respectively, which extend transversely across theinside of the cabinet. The compartment formed by the partition 19 andthe end wall 11 has a drawer 21. The compartment formed by the partition20 and the end wall 12 has a spring-pressed follower 22, the springs forpressing it outwardly being shown at 23. The outward movement of thefollower is limited by a roller 24, which extends between the end wall12 and the partition 20.

Fig. 2 is a similar This roller is journaled at each end in bearings,which comprise blocks 25, having recesses 26 extending from the bottomthereof, in which the reduced ends or journals 26 of the roller work.The recesses are closed by flat springs 27, which are fastened to thebottom of the blocks and bear against the journals.

The space between the partitions 19 and 20 has at the bottom a drawer28. Above this drawer is a compartment similar to the one just describedand having a similar springpressed follower 29 and a roller 30 arrangedin the same manner. The compartment just referred to does not extendentirely across the cabinet, and a series of pigeonholes 31 are alsomade in the space between the partition 19 and 20. Beyond thepigeonholes is a space communicating with the rear end of the drawer 28.This space is directly under an opening 32 in the lid 15, through whichthe mail collected by the carrier is dropped into said drawer. Theopening has a suitable closure 33.

The letters to be delivered are placed on the follower 29 under theroller 30, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Newspapers and largeletters are placed on the follower 22. The address side of the letterswill be face up, so that the next letter to be delivered will always bein sight through the panes in the lid. The rollers permit the readyremoval of the letters from the followers without any danger of tearingthe same. The recesses 26 in the block 25 extend rearwardly, so that therollers will not be pulled out when the letters are taken off thefollowers. The rollers can be rgadily removed by pressing down thesprings 2 The drawers 21 and pigeonholes 31 are for carrying stamps andother supplies, and the drawer 28 carries the mail collected. Thecontents of the cabinet are fully protected by the lid and will not bedamaged in bad weather. The manner in which the mail to be delivered iscarried renders it impossible for the carrier to overlook any of it, asit is always in sight, and it can be determined at a glance just wherethe next stop is to be made without opening the cabinet or box. It canbe attached to any ordinary carriage or roadcart and can be operatedwith one hand, leaving the other hand free to drive.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is

1. The combination in a cabinet, having a drawer and a compartment, of aspring-pressed follower in the compartment; and a glazedlid on thecabinet having a slot communicating with the drawer.

2. The combination in a receptacle containing a yielding follower and aroller above the follower limiting its outward movement; of

bearing-blocks secured to the Walls of the receptacle, said blockshaving recesses extending from the bottoms thereof to receive the endsof the rollers; and yielding closures over the recesses.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MANFRED C. FINNEY.

Witnesses:

B. W. RIPLEY, GEORGE ALLEN.

